Comet 252P/LINEAR: born (almost) dead?

TL;DR

This study investigates comet 252P/LINEAR's recent entry into the NEO region, suggesting it is likely a first-time visitor with low activity and volatile-poor origins, based on dynamical and observational evidence.

Contribution

It combines dynamical simulations and observational data to support the hypothesis that 252P/LINEAR is a recently arrived, almost dead comet with low dust production and volatile-poor characteristics.

Findings

Median residency in NEO region is about 400 years.

Dust production rate is approximately 10^6 kg per orbit.

Supports the idea of a volatile-poor formation environment.

Abstract

Previous studies have revealed Jupiter-family comet 252P/LINEAR as a comet that was recently transported into the near-Earth object (NEO) region in $\sim1800$~AD yet only being weakly active. In this Letter, we examine the "formed (almost) dead" hypothesis for 252P/LINEAR using both dynamical and observational approaches. By statistically examining the dynamical evolution of 252P/LINEAR over a period of $10^7$~years, we find the median elapsed residency in the NEO region to be $4\times10^2$~years which highlights the likelihood of 252P/LINEAR as an (almost) first-time NEO. With available cometary and meteor observations, we find the dust production rate of 252P/LINEAR to be at the order of $10^6$~kg per orbit since its entry to the NEO region. These two lines of evidence support the hypothesis that the comet was likely to have formed in a volatile-poor environment. Cometary and meteor observations during the comet's unprecedented close approach to the Earth around 2016 Mar. 21 would be useful for the understanding of the surface and evolutionary properties of this unique comet.